Geriatrics Commons^™

Medications As A Risk Factor In Falls By Older Adults With And Without Intellectual Disabilities, Patricia Slattum, Edward F. Ansello

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Review common intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors for falls by older adults.

2. Compare risk factors for older adults with and without intellectual disabilities.

3. Focus on medications as a risk factor among a complexity of risk factors.

4. Suggest steps to improve appropriateness of medication regimens, as a step to help reduce risk for falls.

Virginia Post: Improving Patient- Physician Communication About End Of Life Care, Chris Pile, Laura Pole

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Examine the complexities of medical decision-making at the end of life and the inadequacy of advance directives alone to affect care at the end of life.

2. Demonstrate how effective communication can facilitate medical decision-making and improve congruency between care received and patient goals, priorities, and values.

3. Discuss the National POLST Paradigm and the current status of POST in Virginia.

Falling Down: Assessing The Risk Of Falls In Older Adults, Steven Morrison

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To provide an overview of the problems associated with falling in older adults.

2. To outline the strengths and weaknesses of the various screening tools used for effective evaluation of an individual’s fall risk.

3. To highlight the benefits of assessing physiological function when screening for falls risk.

Timeslips: Creativity For People With Dementia, Anne Davis Basting

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Recognize the value of creative storytelling for people with dementia, with its shift in emphasis from memory to imagination.

2. Understand the impact of creative storytelling upon facilitators, storytellers, audiences, and readers.

3. Explore the potential mechanisms at work in creative storytelling.

Geriatric Medication Therapy: Weighing The Evidence Versus Best Practice, Lindsay M. Saum, Cathy Ramey

Scholarship and Professional Work – COPHS

Goals: The goal of this article is to provide a review of available evidence for safe prescribing in older adults and recommend medication therapies based on anticipated pharmacokinetic/physiologic changes in this population.

Elucidating The Mechanisms Underlying Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Genetic Polymorphisms, Steven Estus

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Presentations

Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yielded a bounty of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) or conditions associated with AD. Here, we will present several vignettes that illustrate approaches to use these results to clarify AD-related pathways and potential therapeutics

We Are Family: When Elder Abuse, Neglect, And Financial Exploitation Hit Home, Jeannie J. Beidler

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To describe a case, from discovery to prosecution, of familial abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation.

2. To demonstrate gaps in elder care policy.

3. To share my experience in order to help protect the vulnerable older adults.

The Fairfax County Hoarding Task Force, Michael Congleton

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe the reasons for forming the Fairfax County Hoarding Task Force.

2. Explain the organizational makeup of the Hoarding Task Force.

3. Understand the risk factors in hoarding and what is being done to address them.

Hoarding Behavior In The Elderly, Henriette Kellum

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Identify the medical and mental health factors that contribute to hoarding behavior.

2. Describe the unique aspects of hoarding in the elderly.

3. Examine intervention and treatment strategies.

Arthritis And Physical Activity In Mid- And Later-Life, Nicholas Turkas

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe some of the more common types of arthritic conditions.

2. Discuss co-morbidities or coexisting conditions often occurring with arthritis.

3. Describe the Arthritis Foundation as a relevant resource when dealing with arthritic conditions.

Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus: How Can It Be Told Apart From Neurodegenerative Diseases Of The Elderly?, Raphael C. Zohn

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) affects more of the older population than people recognize. The underestimation of this neurological condition is due in most part to the overlap of its symptoms to other forms of dementia as well as many other geriatric conditions. The objective of this paper was to research and contrast various methods of differentiation in the diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus as well as find pretreatment indicators of successful surgery. Methods included reviewing of articles and studies done to evaluate which symptoms are most commonly presented in normal pressure hydrocephalus and their subtle differences from the symptoms of …

The Impact Of Providing Rehab Mobility Equipment To Those In Need, Bruce Stelmack, Brian Leitten

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Discuss the need to provide rehabilitation mobility equipment at no cost to those who have no other means to obtain it.

2. Assess the impact on a community when mobility equipment for underinsured impaired persons (“at risk”) cannot be secured.

3. Describe a successful recycling program that provides free rehabilitation mobility equipment.

4. Explain the importance of a community- based model to provide rehabilitation equipment.

Universal Design In Housing, Steve Hansler, Beth Glas

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Show how an aging population increases the need for housing that is accessible and adaptable.

2. Define visitability, universal design, and accessible design.

3. Explain ways to approach universal design including key factors.

4. Illustrate how universal design can be used in both renovation and new construction.

Alcohol, Medications, And Older Adults, Mailtreyee Mohanty, Patricia Slattum

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe patterns of simultaneous use of alcohol and Central Nervous System (CNS) - acting medications among older adults.

2. Understand the mechanisms of interaction between alcohol and CNS-acting medications and their consequences.

3. Identify strategies to prevent alcohol-medication interactions among older adults.

4. Recommend resources for older adults and service providers for identifying and managing problematic alcohol and medication use.

Habilitation Therapy In Dementia Care, Paul Raia

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. To describe the goal of Habilitation Therapy and how it differs from other methods of dementia care, including rehabilitation.

2. To identify areas or domains in which we have opportunities to bring about and sustain positive emotions.

3. To discuss four communication strategies to use with mid- to laterstage Alzheimer’s patients.

Is Thrombolytic Therapy Safe When Used To Treat Elderly Patients?, Daniel Yaeger

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Recently, research has been conducted to determine if thrombolytic therapy works to dissolve clots and if it is a safe treatment option. The specific purpose of this study is to determine if thrombolytic therapy is safe for use in the elderly. This study was conducted by reviewing the relevant literature that has been published from the time that research began to test the usefulness of thrombolytic therapy. Numerous journals were examined to ensure impartiality and emerge with an unbiased conclusion. The journals were discovered using PubMed article finder, using Google as a search engine, and by scrutinizing relevant references found …

Aging And The Behavioral Problems Of Brain Injury, Paul F. Aravich, Marylin Copeland

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. List the various classes of brain injury.

2. Identify cognitive and emotional problems as among the most common and disabling complications of brain injury.

3. Assess challenges to successful aging with a brain injury.

4. Examine the consequences of inadequate systems of care for the challenging behaviors produced by brain injury.

Senior Meal Programs: Feeding A Crowd With Local Foods, Gordon Walker, Elyse Thierry

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Examine reasons for an institutional meal program to consider incorporating local food.

2. Identify potential community partners who might assist in moving such a program forward and the mutual benefits.

3. Describe the possible changes that an institution’s local food program can foster in the community at large.

Cpr And Dnr Decision Making, Viki Kind

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Examine the complexities of end-of-life care and obstacles to good DNR decision making.

2. Discuss CPR and its perceived vs. actual chances for success.

3. Demonstrate best practices for communicating about CPR.

4. Consider how the signing of the DNR is just one component of endof- life care.

Reverse Mortgages, Bruce Desimone

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe mobility rates among older adults.

2. Define a reverse mortgage and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), and their origins in Virginia.

3. Explain key HECM loan and counseling features.

4. Illustrate how these features may improve the lives of older Virginians.

Our Grandparents, Our Parents, Our Future Selves: Optimizing Function In Old Age., Thomas Michael Gill

Center for Policy Research

Most of my research at Yale University School of Medicine over the past several years has focused on identifying older adults at risk of functional decline and disability, identifying events that may precipitate the transition from functional independence to disability, and developing strategies to postpone or reduce frailty and disability. As a result of the Precipitating Events Project (PEP) and other research conducted by the Yale Center on Aging/Pepper Center, we now realize that age is only a proxy for other factors that lead to disability, and that some of these factors can be modified to reduce the risk of …

Assessing Gaps In Services For Geriatric Patients With Mental Health Needs, Angela Nelson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Older adults in southwest Minnesota have limited options regarding mental health services. Sanford Tracy Medical Center and Sanford Westbrook Medical Center sought to identify the needs of this population so they can better serve their patients. The following research questions were asked: Do local service providers feel gaps in services exist for older adults experiencing mental health needs in the rural southwestern Minnesota communities of Tracy and Westbrook and the surrounding areas? Do area service providers feel that geriatric patients would benefit from a mental health intervention implemented within the primary healthcare setting? A survey of area geriatric service providers …

Virginia's Money Follows The Person Demonstration, Jason A. Rachel, Karen Lawson

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe Virginia's Money Follows the Person Demonstration project, including the new services available to individuals through Virginia's Medicaid-funded home and community-based waiver program.

2. Explain how Virginia's Money Follows the Person Demonstration project, being administered by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS), would assist an individual in transitioning from a long-term care facility to the community.

3. Illustrate how someone might experience the MFP processes from pre-transition through post-transition.

The Older Inmate, Tara Livengood

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Present a general overview of elderly inmates, including statistics, characteristics, crimes, mental and medical illnesses, and disabilities.

2. Describe Virginia’s only geriatric correctional facility.

3. Explain the practice of release planning, focusing especially on geriatric release.

Sleep And Sleep Disorders In Later Life, Robert D. Vorona

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe basic changes in sleep that occur as we age.

2. Review several important sleep disorders common in later life

3. Discuss treatment modalities for these sleep disorders and potential benefits of therapy.

Activity Engagement For Persons With Dementia, Barbara Braddock, Ellen Phipps

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe a successful approach to activity engagement for persons with dementia.

2. Review three cognitive interventions useful for activity engagement for persons with dementia.

3. Discuss applications of this approach using university students in home visits.

Llmhs Elderly Services Outreach Program: Lincoln, Lyon & Murray Human Services, Jamie Olson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Right now there is a lack of professional and community knowledge regarding the services LLMHS provides to those over age 65. Thus, there are elderly who are in need of help who are not getting connected to a county long term care social worker. The elderly may need help to simply get connected to resources, have questions answered, correct misconceptions about long term care, get recommendations, or assistance paying for home and community based services. There are also many providers and professionals with questions about what LLMHS does and does not do as well as what the assistance programs can …

White Paper: Walking Speed: The Sixth Vital Sign, Stacy Fritz, Michelle M. Lusardi

All PTHMS Faculty Publications

Walking speed is "almost the perfect measure." This review summarizes the strong psychometric properties of walking speed and robust evidence for using this clinical measurement. Walking speed is easily measurable, clinically interpretable, and a potentially modifiable risk factor. For these reasons, using WS as the sixth vital sign is both pragmatic and essential.

No Wrong Door: Virginia’S Key Strategic Initiative For Long-Term Care, Molly Huffstetler

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Describe the rationale, current activities, and vision for No Wrong Door as it pertains to seniors, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers throughout Virginia.

2. Demonstrate the positive potential for collaboration among local long-term care service providers, both public and private.

3. Illustrate the benefits of coordinating long-term care services for an individual through Virginia’s No Wrong Door.

Confident Living Program For Senior Adults Experiencing Combined Vision And Hearing Loss, Paige Berry, Mia Kelley-Bock, Christine Reid

Case Studies from Age in Action

Educational Objectives

1. Identify needs common among older adults who have combined vision and hearing loss.

2. Describe a model program that provides information, resources, and training to older adults experiencing combined vision and hearing loss.

3. Describe how the program benefits not only consumers, but also family, friends, caregivers, students, and service providers.